Chiefs tell AFN meeting new federal clean water bill walks back hard-won rights

By Alessia Passafiume First Nations leaders and an opposition MP are denouncing the Carney government’s new proposed clean water legislation, which drops wording in a previous version that would have explicitly recognized First Nations’ right to clean drinking water. Speaking on a panel at the Assembly of First Nations annual general assembly in Ottawa, NDP MP Leah Gazan and Conservative MP Billy Morin picked the bill apart alongside Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige and Newfoundland Regional Chief Brendan Mitchell. Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty reintroduced legislation this summer that seeks to ensure First Nations have reliable access to clean drinking water in their communities. While the legislation is largely in line with a bill that failed to pass under the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, it leaves…

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